All why surrounding himself w/yes men. What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.. Thanks for finally being honest. But I lived this in the late 70s and early 80s the scandals of the then big preachers they fell down hard as well. When we try to protect those in power instead of those who are hurting, we are not doing the work of God. Also, for 2 years I felt my prayers didnt get past the ceiling. Its about the hurting. Wow. With Gossip of the Gospel, the Church Grows in Nepal. On Tuesday, Chicago shock jock and one-time friend of MacDonaldMancow Muller aired a series of clips featuring someone who sounds like MacDonald making offensive comments. No Celebrities Except Jesus: How Asbury Protected the Revival, Southern Baptist Convention Disfellowships Saddleback Church, After Pushing for UMC Unity, Former Bishop Joins New Denomination, After Chaos and Crisis, Beth Moore Still Finds Refuge in the Church, With Gossip of the Gospel, the Church Grows in Nepal. No, I dont as well as many others. All that leads to ia where we are, I led worship in a church for 5 years. Will those men now be known for their mark as sinful followers of James? On February 12th, someone who sounded an awful lot like James MacDonald called into Mancow Mullers Chicago-area radio show to cuss out all of his perceived enemies. He was the senior pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel megachurch in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, United States [1] [2] and was the host for the church's former broadcast ministry, Walk in the Word . Many are in or have been in denial. I havent seen the video but abuse of power at any level is sickening!! Before the article was even printed, Harvest sued Roys, plus two bloggers who've been critical about problems at Harvest. It is a biblical teaching that unrepentant public sin in a public representative of God ((ie, pastors and elders) must be publicly rebuked for the sake of the church as a whole. Do not judge the timing, Gods timing is Always Perfect. The pastor also gets $1.2 million and a parcel of property in Crystal Lake, Illinois, as well the ministrys equipment, books, and digital resources, the church announced this week. I have multiple thoughts. Check out Moreno website, http://www.godsonlygospel.com. Praise and Worship is congregational: Dont talk to them, or theyll drag you down too. We are satisfied and grateful to our pastor for his Christlike behavior. I too visited Harvest. These churches do not usually belong to any denominational body; this means that these pastors have no body above them that they are accountable to. 8. I appreciate the Biblical distinction you made Sheila, in relation to the Bible calling us to be good ; which doesnt always mean being kind and nice. That, apparently, was what it took to get him fired. May Our Lord guide all of us and May His will be done above all else. The question is, how many pastors/leaders are actually GIVING AWAY the ministry and equipping others for it? I regret staying at Harvest after that meeting with the elders. WORLD Magazine and other evangelical news outlets celebrated this resolution. For this, according to the Daily Herald, Secrest was fired. No one knows why. I think the congregation who asks these questions should know that I pray for them. maybe its time for all of us to wake up. The reason there are spiritual Pol Pots that number in the thousands like our friend James McDonald is because men are happy to give themselves authority. By the time I left, I had discovered something dark about myself: I was a woman/person ruled by fear. This was encouraging to read and I hope others take it to heart. Your staying as long as you did part of the clarity and power youve experienced in communicating what youve seen. OnFebruary 13, the elders announcedJames MacDonald had been fired. P.S. I appreciate your voice. *For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. WHY NOW??? I so agree with your cancer analogy as it relates to Harvest. I didnt want to risk any negative impacts on my own growing ministry. Because these leaders will continue this false deceitful way of life that flows from them so seamlessly, so easily, and with such persuasiveness. Most of my friends as well. The issue here is not TIMING or kicking someone when theyre down its about exposing ungodly, cowardly behavior and making people aware of its existence. Harvest used that phrase to manipulate the congregation. So are you saying that there is mind control of the underling staff and of the rank and file members going on at HBC? I am sure that was very hard for her to share . Thank you for sharing your story and for doing so in the right spirit. Thank you for your honesty and your explanation. I left Harvest CL 3 yrs ago after being forced out of a ministry and other thingspart of the membership indoctrinationyou are not allowed to say anything disparaging against church leadership or the church. My precious, from a far, friend who I have watched since your first speaking engagement at Harvest. I will not address any party affiliation. Welcome to the Video Broadcast ministry of Cornerstone Bible Church. For a great many, it's time for the cult of personality of James MacDonald at Harvest chapter to close and the actual Bible to be opened again., Today on his edgy radio show, Muller said while he felt MacDonalds firing had to happen, he also had wanted nothing to do with any of it and now my part is done., I feel like God was using me in this, he said. It IS her truth These are the same elders that signed off on James filing the law suit against the Ryan Mahoney and his wife, Scott Bryant and his wife, and Julie Roys! We too would pray and fast and seek the Lord as to what it was we could have done wrong as not one person from the church we had attended for years cared to find out where we were at. Ted Haggard bemoans his "exile" in a new HBO documentary. You are open to correction, feeling hurt when it comes. Harvest Bible Chapel has reached a multimillion-dollar agreement to transfer some of its assets to former pastor James MacDonald, who plans to continue in ministry outside the Chicago-area megachurch. Transparency in finances God is sifting His church! He is really great at it I give him that. He told me that I would be cursed for questioning his authority and God would punish me. Sheila, we are not called to be good, we are called to be HOLY! Thank you for speaking out, Lina! They are not calmly declining either. Really? He stood and told me and my husband he was naive to the Paxton Singer situation. It helps to be able to talk about it instead of feeling like you have to hide it, or just deal with it. Where there is no vision and freedom the people perish. No one wins here-except our enemy. Ill let the others fight that fight today. How important it is to pray pray pray and check on our leaders also of their growth in Christ and what our church mission is and to stay biblical, not political but biblical. God is good, truth always win. Both can be messy, but in the latter case, responsibility for that mess must be laid squarely at the feet of the abusive Elders who are sinning, not at the feet of Christs little ones, the oppressed members of Christs flock, who are being caused to stumble, nor at the feet of those attempting to triage the wounded and sound a warning to others who are in danger of being Scripture does not say what the mark was, but it was a mark that man knew as a sign to not to kill Cain, as it would end his life, and end the judgement that God had given Cain to live out his life with. The World article on the topic says that after Secrest was fired, "he was stunned, because his contract stipulated that he could be fired only for . Id be interested in reading you blog on tattoos. Were they afraid? I really think you hit the nail on the head when you said you realized something dark about yourself, that you had been a woman ruled by fearand I could identify with what you said since I had been that woman too. Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world. Faith is Christ living. Also note how the apostle Paul called out Peter publicly when Peter was indulging in hypocrisy! At Camp Harvest in 2009, for example, the pastor shot at a target that contained photos of some elders wives. There are always two sides to every story not really believing your story and if someone is a Christian you would talk about this with some Church leaders not blow it all out in public its sad that it was done that way that isnt what a Christian would do it is what a secular person would do. But when it happens for reasons like this we should be shouting it but unfortunately we dont always perceive the abuse for what it was/is until we are out of the situation. When is God pleased at his church? I have a Patreon! Biblical: submission to the Word in My Dream Church will be at a higher level It was both true in a sense and funny. The whole ordeal was very strange. Even before the 58-year-old pastors sabbatical, MacDonalds role at Harvest had shifted. Not one. How about some GRACE !!! Its like I seek mans favor as well, rather than the Lords. Love for God, relationships, and the church. I used to go to a church in AZ pastored by Jon Gaus. Continually praying for healing, reconciliation and restoration for His church. superstar pastors are always ,inevitably, trouble. chose to suffer. Im disappointed in your timing. Ezekiel 22:27: Her princes [leaders] within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain. Nothing will change at Harvest if the cancer of fear is not exposed . I hope to become braver. Your truth was not conceived in fasting or deep prayer and it sure isnt loving. I was always greeted with a kiss by a cute missionary girl that went there. Because Jeff is still lying to peoples faces with a smug grin as recently as Saturday night. Thank God the early Christians stood firm and did not run away from troubles. This is also why as a follower of Christ it is so important to know and learn Gods word so you see when something isnt right. Can you please contact me from the Contact button on my web page here? Can Bubble Tea Bring Gen Z into the Chinese Church. You are joined with so many ex harvesters that were wounded deeply by what became a toxic culture at HBC. But as every Christian knows, we walk and we live by grace. That is at the root of a serious problem that the Church hardly touches. You have to leave before you can see clearly. The former Harvest Bible Fellowship leaders now at GCCwhich contains about 130 churches, more than half of which still have Harvest in their namesshare concerns about the churchs leadership and are looking for transparency and repentance from MacDonald. Your child will experience the life-changing power of Jesus and His Word through worship and story, and age-appropriate learning tools. MacDonald was manifestly not okay with the criticism. Or share it. Swicegood released a statement saying that much of what has been alleged "is simply false, misleading and hateful." He added that the . The link was in my post above. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. How do you know it wasnt done with fasting and with prayer? For our premium ad-free experience, including exclusive podcasts, issues and more, subscribe to. Theyre gone. Thank goodness God is still God! We warn the people of Harvest Bible Churchto separate themselves from these false messengers. You are speaking the minds of the many who did not stand up to James as they felt at the time, based on fear of public shame, and damage to career, to stick their heads in the sand and not speak up. The collaboration of many witnesses should help the leadership at Harvest (or any church) know the depth of a problem. The Lord has used you mightily before, during and after your exit from the toxic leadership at Harvest. We are wounded and grieving. I have been attending Harvest and listening and learning from Pastor James sermons for almost 10 years; I have witnessed the sweet joy of my husband coming to Christ because of God using Pastor James mightily; and I have been blessed beyond measure by the positive impact Harvest, its ministries, and especially its PEOPLE have had upon my relationship with God, my Harvest friends and family, my life, and my marriage. But the biggest lesson is people need to stop looking at preachers as though they are perfect, but God know they arent and they need people on their necks to keep them honest. I have great empathy and sensitivity toward them. Rita, be encouraged. Since I know I am capable of the worst sin, I am choosing to show grace and praying fervently. My last complaint. Since the publishing of this article, several developments have occurred at Harvest Bible Chapel. I have a love-hate relationship with Thanksgiving Day. Lina, I believe Lina did do the best she could at the time. I am so happy that finally people are standing up and talk about it! It took months to get over the hurt he caused my husband and I. No church outside of the One True Church Christ began was given His authority to act on their own. We are stunned at the response of our pastor and a ministry leader who have declined to meet us as God directs us in Matthew 18. My heart breaks for the ones who will walk away from church and walk away from God. Dont listen to haters. A woman who is full of fun loving life. The flock are the casualties in all of this. I can think of hundreds of small things, and some rather large ones, that Ive compromised myself for. I still would like to read the blog on tattoos. Pray and console those whose faith has weakened from this. What is strange about your concern about your own fear is I have been of thee opinion that Pastor James must have been ruled by his own fear-fear of losing influence and the fear of losing his ministry.

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